Lunch Break
by The Werewolf Mage
Summary: During a not-so-busy day at the KCPD, Samantha is sent out for lunch. Sebastian sends Joseph with her, but despite the detective's attempts, she's pretty sure Joseph will never notice her.


_Title: Lunch Break_

_Summary: During a not-so-busy day at the KCPD, Samantha is sent out for lunch. Sebastian sends Joseph with her, but despite the detective's attempts, she's pretty sure Joseph will never notice her._

_Notes: Oh, man, have I been fangirling over Joseph hard lately! He was my favorite ever since I first heard of The Evil Within, he and Seb are both quite delicious, and there's something about Ruvik too, but Joseph has always stood out to me. He's a total doll! I don't know if it's The Consequence or what, but Joseph has been on my mind for days now!_

_So I wrote this to maybe soothe the inner fangirl. It's just a cutesy little one-shot, mostly one-side OC/Joseph, but I may expand on it if the need arises!_

On occasion, there are "those days." The slow, boring days where nothing seems to happen and time is nearly at a standstill. The days where one glance at the clock shows it has only been ten minutes since one last looked instead of the hours that it felt like had passed.

The Krimson City Police Department was having one of those days when Samantha Rask knocked on the open door to Detective Sebastian Castellanos' office and stuck her head in.

"Hey guys," she began, tuck a loose strand of hair behind her ear, "I'm heading out to get some lunch, want anything?"

Sebastian looked up from the folder he was idly thumbing through. "The usual," he told her. His partner, Joseph Oda, sat beside the desk, taking notes.

Instead of immediately answering her, he glanced up from the notepad in his hand. "They're sending a dispatcher for our lunch?" he asked.

Samantha laughed, tucked that stray strand of hair behind her ear, and said, "Well, I kind of volunteered. There are three of us doing absolutely nothing, and when the paper clip fight started, I figured it would be best to leave for a little while. I did _not _want to get caught in the crossfire!"

Sebastian looked from Joseph to Samantha and said, "To be honest, we're about that busy in here. Joseph and I are just going through the Missing Persons files. Have you got a big order?" he asked with a side glance at Joseph.

Samantha flicked open a small notebook of her own and clicked her tongue as she read through the orders. "Eight sandwich orders and a trip to the bakery." She flipped it shut and slipped it into her shirt pocket.

"Sounds like you could use an extra set of hands. Why don't you go with her, Joseph? Those notes can wait."

"Of course, I'd be glad to help," Joseph said, getting to his feet. He cast a curious look to Sebastian before following Samantha out the door.

"Thanks for coming," Samantha said as they passed by the not-so-busy force on the way out of the building. "I mean it. It is so much better than going back and forth to the car at least three times with someone always complaining I didn't bring their order in first or - " she broke off and bit her lip, realizing she was babbling. Joseph Oda seemed to have that effect on her.

'_No,' _she corrected herself, '_he makes me feel like I'm back in high school, a giggling, awkward mess with red hair that didn't behave then, either.' _

Joseph gave her a reassuring smile and said, "I understand. Those guys seem to get cranky when they aren't fed." She smiled back, took her keys from her small purse, and clicked the automatic unlock on the little remote. "A bug?" Joseph asked, his tone a mixture of curiosity and confusion.

"Please don't insult my baby," Samantha said, patting the yellow Beetle's top. "We can take your car, or a cruiser if you'd rather."

"This is fine," Joseph said, opening the passenger door. "Just a... surprise."

"You can push the seat back if you need to," Samantha told him. "I don't have many constant passengers, so it's fine."

"Any further back and I think I'll be in the backseat," Joseph remarked jokingly.

"Hey, if Sebastian can fit in here, you can!"

"When did Seb ride in here?" Joseph asked.

Samantha shrugged. "He saw my bug and wanted to drive it, so I let him for a little while. And... yeah," she sighed, "he was pretty much in the backseat, too." She smoothed the front of her skirt and started up the little yellow car.

"So," Joseph said as she pulled out into traffic, "the deli and the bakery?"

"Yes, in such a cliché order, I was asked to get a couple dozen donuts. And they do have these really good strawberry cupcakes, they're covered in buttercream icing and - " she cut herself off again and muttered an apology.

"Don't be sorry," Joseph told her. "I've never known a woman to not have a sweet tooth."

The short ride to the deli was silent. Joseph watched out the window as Samantha tried to think of something to say that wouldn't lead to more babbling.

Erich, the owner of the deli, greeted them warmly. After Samantha slid him the paper with the lunch orders on it, he leaned against the counter and asked, "So, what's going on at the KCPD? Not much, I'm guessing since they sent two of you."

Samantha thought for a moment, then smiled. "Paper Clip Wars," she said with a sly smile. "Very serious business."

The older man laughed as he went off to help fill their orders. When he did, Joseph leaned next to her and whispered, "You do know he's going to make that out to be some sort of rivalry between paper clip companies, right?"

Samantha covered her mouth with her hand to stifle her giggles. "Oh, I know! Did you really think I was going to tell him we're doing absolutely nothing? That's not what you want to hear your police force is doing!"

"Good point."

Their wait was not a long one, something Samantha assumed was due to being with the KCPD. It did have the occasional perk, after all.

"Want me to hold them?" Joseph asked as they carried several bags full of take out containers.

"They'll be fine in the back," Samantha told him.

"Are you sure?" Joseph asked with a glance towards the backseat of the bug.

"We'll put them behind my seat," she said, pushing the lever on the driver's seat to lean it forward. "That way," she said with a giggle, "you won't be sitting on everyone's lunch." Joseph merely shook his head and smiled.

The drive from the deli to the bakery was slightly longer, and it took them past Beacon Mental Hospital. At a red light, Samantha sighed and looked towards the hospital. It seemed to dwarf nearly every other building in Krimson City. "I hate that place," she murmured. "If I can take another route and _not _drive past it, I will," she confessed to Joseph.

"Why? It's just a building."

"It gives me the creeps." It was the only answer she could give him. '_How do you explain to such a seriously buttoned up individual like Joseph Oda that deep sense of fear and foreboding that a building gives you?' _she thought. She knew the answer, though. _You don't. _Unless you wanted to run the risk of winding up on the inside.

Joseph shifted in his seat and said, "You really shouldn't be afraid of it. There are much more disturbing things in the world than an old building that houses mental patients."

"I know," was all Samantha could think to say.

While she did get the feeling Joseph wanted to add something, he did not speak until they reached the bakery. "Do you want something?" she asked him. "It's my treat," she added, thankful that he was walking slightly behind her. She could feel herself blushing slightly.

"Thank you, but I'll pass."

She shrugged, a little more hurt by that than she thought she would be. '_It's just a treat,' _she tried to assure herself before stepping up to the counter to place an order for glazed donuts, powdered donuts, jelly filled donuts, cake donuts, frosted donuts, frosted donuts with sprinkles, and one strawberry cupcake. She turned to Joseph with her boxes, carefully balancing the small cupcake box on top.

"These," she said on the way out, "might be safer if they were held."

Joseph laughed lightly and said, "I don't think cops would want their donuts flattened. I'll be glad to hold them."

"Yeah, guess I can't buckle them in or anything," Samantha said with a laugh, then the immediate desire to facepalm. She was glad that Joseph did not scoff at such a stupid remark. Not that she expected him to.

To her surprise, he did admit one thing. "This cupcake _does _smell pretty good," he remarked as she made a left turn.

"Want half?" she asked, stopping at a stop sign.

He smiled and said, "It wouldn't be polite to eat your cupcake. But I will get one on the way home."

"Let me know what you think," Samantha said, glancing at him out the corner of her eye.

"So," he begin, shifting in his seat. The precinct was now in sight. "Who do you think has won your, ah, paper clip war?"

Samantha had to admit to herself that was probably the last thing she would have thought he would ask. "Hmm," she began slowly as she pulled into a parking space, "oh, let's face it. With Gina involved, I wouldn't be surprised to know if things came to blows after we left."

The two of them laughed at that as they got out of the car. "Thanks for coming with me," Samantha told him as they headed to the door. "Although, I'm going to warn you, these guys can get pretty crazy when it comes to lunch. Who knew ham on rye could make cops so vicious?"

"You'd be surprised," Joseph told her.

After feeding the hungry masses, and making sure her cupcake was safe, Joseph and Samantha parted ways. He carried his and Sebastian's lunch to Sebastian's office. "Have fun?" Sebastian asked, taking his tray from Joseph.

"Why did you send me with her?" Joseph asked, taking a seat.

Sebastian cocked his head and said, "You can't be that dense, Joseph."

Joseph chose to ignore the remark from his partner. Instead, he put down the sandwich he had just picked up and asked, "Did you really drive that little bug?"

Sebastian scoffed into his meal and said, "I was making fun of it. Told her I bet it couldn't go any faster than thirty miles an hour. She threw her keys at me and told me to find out." After taking a bite of his lunch, he added, "It actually _does _go faster than that. But I pretty much had to sit in the backseat to drive it."


End file.
